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ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS

The General Tarleton, Yorkshire Dales

Chef Tommy Banks, one of Yorkshire’s favourite foodie sons, is most famous for his award-winning restaurant Black Swan at Oldstead, but he’s no stranger to pubs. Actually, the Black Swan originally operated as a pub, with Banks serving drinks at his family’s establishment before graduating to the kitchen. In 2023, he opened Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has recently launched a hospitality arm dedicated to restoring other pubs across the UK. The first project is General Tarleton with eight rooms in the village of Ferrensby, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with refined versions of traditional pub dishes made with regional ingredients – ideal sustenance for walks along the river and into Nidd Gorge, a scenic local area.

Bat and Ball Inn, Oxfordshire Countryside

It’s dogs by the fire and dog collars at the bar at this charming pub in the village of Cuddesdon, best known for its clergy college. It was opened at the start of the year by the owners of Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the culinary team at both locations gained experience at the esteemed Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons down the road. This pub is the more relaxed option – it even features a dartboard – and dishes take typical pub fare and enhance them with carefully sourced local ingredients. Five guest rooms have walls painted in deep fall colors to match the surrounding countryside, which is sandwiched between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.

Kings Arms Inn, Lake District

This family-owned pub, which reopened at the end of August, is at the heart of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, around the corner from Beatrix Potter Gallery and the Hawkshead Grammar School museum, where the poet Wordsworth carved his name into his desk. It’s rich in history in oak beams and stone floors at the King’s Arms too, which originates in the 1600s. Behind the dark-wood panelled bar is a roster of local beers including Coniston Old Man Ale and Cumbrian Ales Loweswater Gold, while the food leans towards classic with Cumberland scotch eggs and beef wellington. The perfect meal to be enjoying after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.

The Wellington at Boscastle, Cornwall

Affectionately called The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle Harbor on the rugged north Cornwall coast. A local brewery recently invested heavily renovating it, and the results are evident in the cosy dining rooms, snugs and stained-glass windows. The best rooms are the turret suites with freestanding baths, but every room come with artwork by local artists and ordnance survey maps and a South West Coast Path national trail book for walks. The trail passes nearby: heading west to Tintagel Castle, birthplace of King Arthur as per myth, or round past Pentargon waterfall. Post-hike, there’s pints of local ale by the fire and servings of fish and chips to look forward to, made with local catch in ale batter.

Woolpack Inn, Hampshire

Recently renovated by renowned designer Nina Campbell, this rural inn is the social hub in the small village of Totford in peaceful Candover Valley. It is surrounded by fields and woodlands, so chef Luke Stradling has abundant regional ingredients to draw on – complemented by the pub’s large kitchen garden, right now filled with pumpkin, celeriac and winter leaves. In addition to providing almost all the vegetables on the menu, the team also donates 20% of the harvest to community charities and homeless shelters. Upstairs, eight guest rooms are named after game birds, but it’s fly fishing the local main attraction – angling for trout in the famous chalk stream of the River Itchen.

Fleur de Lys Inn, Dorset Countryside

Hospitality group Chickpea has nailed the contemporary inns with accommodation formula – excellent cuisine, friendly bar and competitive rates for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a historic inn in the village of Cranbourne. The novelist Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor here and makes reference to it in his novel Tess. The revamp reflects its historical character: hops hang over the large open fireplace, candles flicker on tables and, upstairs, the nine bedrooms are decorated in muted colours. Trails loop around Cranborne Manor, with dishes such as Brixham bass, venison barnsley chop and toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.

Penny Bun Inn, Yorkshire Dales

Named after a mushroom found in local woods, Penny Bun is a departure from your traditional boozer. With its clay-plastered walls and earth-toned palette, the style is minimalist than brass beer pumps. Between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the new inn is part of Denton Reserve, a 2,500-acre estate undergoing a sustainably led transformation, focusing on carbon capture and regenerative farming. It provides many of the ingredients found on the menu at the Penny Bun, such as Tamworth pork croquette salad or beetroot gnocchi. The calming aesthetic particularly suits the five rooms (the best room comes with a freestanding bath), with plush beds to sink into after hikes on Ilkley Moor, right outside the front door.

The Ship, Norfolk

This summer, The Peyton sisters revitalized this historic coastal inn with nine rustic rooms in the village of Brancaster. The cooking here has a light Mediterranean touch, and while menus have one eye on the sea (a short walk from the coast), local game is the star turn in autumn. For Sunday lunch, expect whole pot-roasted venison shoulders served with local wild mushrooms instead of the usual chicken or beef, while in the front bar relax by the fireplace and enjoy a mangalitza pork sausage roll or monkfish scampi with a pint of Moon Gazer Ale. Outside, the vast skies look especially arresting at this time of year – look out for flocks of migrating pink-footed geese – and trails cut through dunes and marshes.

The Leicester Arms, Kent Countryside

Across the road from the entrance to medieval Penshurst Place and Gardens, this historic pub is looking prettier than ever after a £1.2m revamp last year. It’s easy to see why it won Kent’s county prize at the national awards: there are deep leather armchairs by the fire in the bar, authentic Kent ales from nearby Larkins, and superior cuisine in the dining room. The menu highlights local produce, with lamb scotch egg and Whitstable oysters, while the 11 botanically named bedrooms are decorated in an attractive heritage style. Four rooms come with clawfoot tubs for post-walk soaks after a stroll around the Penshurst Estate past River Medway, lakes and giant oak trees.

Swan Inn, West Sussex

The lengthy renovation of this historic inn in Fittleworth on the South Downs was worth the wait. Period details from its 14th-century roots mix with modern comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains traditional, says the owner. Dining in the wood-panelled, art-adorned dining room draw on seasonal local produce (wild mushrooms and fresh plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in the barn in the pretty gardens. The old visitor books are interesting: notable guests include JMW Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling. There’s plenty to do nearby, from browsing antiques in local villages to walks on the downs, Petworth House and Arundel castle.

Nevill Arms Inn, Leicestershire Countryside

With its honeyed hamlets, pretty market towns and rolling countryside, the Welland valley is in a part of the country sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (like the Cotswolds but without the price tag). Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was refurbished in 2023, with 10 rooms (some with four-poster beds) spread between the inn and former stables – and next year they’ll add a three-bedroom stone cottage next door too. Culinarily, meats are reared on the owner’s farm, while in the inky blue-painted bar there’s a rotating line up of Langton ales on tap – the favorite of which is an amber bitter, Inclined Plane, named after the lift at nearby Foxton Locks.

New Inn Yealand, Lancashire Countryside

Young couple Ben and Lauren Sandiford assumed the running of this seven-bedroom village inn in April. Ben brought his chef experience to the kitchen, which now produces elevated comfort dishes (shepherd’s pie with mash and ewe’s cheese crumb or beef and ale suet pudding) to be eaten in the rustic dining area beside the log burner. The bar is filled with locals sipping on